


Tails of Quarantine in a One Bedroom Apartment

by AnxiousCupcake



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Drama, Fake Relationship (eventually), Fluff, Humour, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Jealous Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Mild Angst, Quarantine Roommates, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, eventual identity reveal, gabriel SUCKS, marichat goodness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24137434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiousCupcake/pseuds/AnxiousCupcake
Summary: When Marinette finds out Chat will be in an empty house during quarantine, she isn't having it. She asks him to spend the lockdown with her so they could keep each other company in her new apartment. In their excitement over the idea, neither of them had really thought this through as to what it would mean to keeping their identities secret or the extent of how ineffective pillow walls really are.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Past Kagami/Adrien, past Luka/Marinette
Comments: 79
Kudos: 232





	1. Ladybug: Master Strategist and Harbringer of Great Ideas

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you are all staying safe!!
> 
> Thank you to user IAmWhelmed for helping me with the title, sdlkfj. 
> 
> Full disclosure, this was born out of my own boredom during quarantine.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!! 
> 
> [ There's probably typos I overlooked or sentences I just forgot to finish on here, so let me know!! ]

_**Day 0** _

Marinette was feeling a mix of emotions that she would reflect on later, but _right now_ she was just glad that her university had to postpone the deadline for the final assignment of the semester. She was also feeling fortunate that she’d brought the project _home_ a week ago because she had wanted to work on it from home despite the mild flu symptoms that had forced her to self-isolate a week back. 

Another upside, she decided, as her gaze swept over her apartment, was now she could unpack all those boxes leisurely. Though she’d moved into this apartment three months ago, being the co-President of Procrastination Nation, she had not yet finished unpacking much apart from the essentials. 

Among a few other things, Nino had left this couch behind when he’d moved in with Alya all those months ago, and Marinette had moved out of hers and Alya’s apartment into Nino’s old one to keep things simple. The couch though, she decided absently, needed deep cleaning. Well, she had loads of time on her hands now, didn’t she?

Apart from that - extended deadline and time to finally set her home straight - there really was no upside to the situation. She lived too far away from her parents now to make that trip often and no way in _hell_ was she going to take the metro. Swinging there as Ladybug was always an option but she was supposed to be a role model and she’d be pretty conspicuous in red flying over rooftops on days when _everyone_ was home and bored enough to _probably_ be staring out the window. 

So here she was. 

In her new-ish apartment that used to be Nino’s. 

With an assignment to finish.

Alone. 

With three mannequins for company. 

For who knows how long.

What was she even supposed to do?

She huffed and was about to get her notebook out to _plan s_ tuff, when she heard a knock on the window in the living room. Sitting straighter, she peered over the back of the couch to find her kitty hanging outside her window looking all too pleased with himself. Amused, she grabbed a bottle of sanitiser on her way to the window and opened it, shoving the bottle in his face in a ‘Stop’ gesture as he made to hop into the room. 

Rolling his eyes, he extended his hands so she could pump sanitiser onto them and rubbed it all over before she stepped aside and he leapt onto the couch with a grin. 

“I’m glad you moved in here,” he said. “I can come by whenever I want without having to worry about Alya spotting me.”

Marinette hummed, patting his head as she went to the kitchen. “Cookies?” she called. 

“Please.”

A plate ready in her hand, she walked over to the couch as he sat up to sink into the cushions just as she dropped herself next to him. 

“So, what brings you here, Kitty?” she asked, munching on a cookie. “Shouldn’t you be, you know, _indoors_. Where no one can see you prancing about the city at a time no one is even supposed to be outside?”

“It’s past sunset, no one will notice a leather clad cat boy out in the dark,” he replied, popping two cookies into his mouth at once. “Apart from that, my house is… big. And… no one’s home,” he replied petulantly. 

Marinette stared at him. “What about your father?”

“He is away on business. He’s stuck in that country until further notice,” he grinned at that. “But still. The house is empty and I…”

Marinette nodded. “I get it. I’ll be here alone too,” she said morosely, before perking up and looking at him brightly.

“Princess?”

“I have a… wild idea,” she said slowly.

He looked at her warily. “I can tell,” he said slowly. “If you ask me to let you hold on to one end of the baton and activate it while I’m still on the ground just to see how far up you would go, I’m afraid the answer is still no, Princess.”

She scrunched her nose. “I still think that is a great idea, purely for experimental purposes,” she huffed. “Besides, that’s not what I was going to say…”

“Okay, hear me out…”

“Go on…” he said.

“I have a friend who is already living by himself though I know he hates that. There’s nothing I can do about that because his father is a _complete_ asshole,” she said, frowning and Chat snorted. 

“And I’d have him come live with me in a heartbeat if his father _let_ him but we’ve already established that Mr. Agreste is a dick, haven’t we? So I can’t- What’s so funny?” she asked, frowning at the barely restrained mirth on Chat’s face.

“Nothing, sorry, go on…” he said, a hint of laughter still in his voice.

“Anyway,” she said, looking at him with suspicion. “As I was saying, I can’t help _him_ but I can definitely help you!” she exclaimed. “I _refuse_ to have _two_ of my friends live alone knowing how much they hate it, and if you just lived _here_ with _me_ till the lockdown is lifted, you’ll have company, and so will I!” she finished, grinning brightly. 

“Wait, hold on,” asked Chat, dumbly. “Are you suggesting I live with you? _Here_?”

“Uh,” she said, her confidence fading a little bit. “Yeah? You’ve said your father is overprotective so I’m sure your father would rather you have company than be alone, right?” she said nervously.

Chat stared at her, and she began wondering if that was a bad idea. Scratch that, this definitely was not a good idea. Her and her _stupid_ impulse control. He had an identity to protect! _She_ had an identity to protect! She also had the Miraculous Box to hide and kwamis that liked playing around in her apartment in her newly found solitude. And what if _Hawkmoth,_ the wad of butt wipes that he is, sent an akuma!? How would she get away to transform!? 

And she’d completely forgotten that this was a _one_ bedroom apartment so there was only _one_ bed! Not to mention she would probably have some classes online starting next week. _And_ the mandatory everyday phone call to Alya and her parents, along with the alternate day video call - they had only decided on _today_ \- with Nino, Alya and Adrien as a pact to keep checking up on each other? _Oh, and if her parents ever found out, they would tease her so much!_

At least Chat was looking at her like she was an idiot (which she was, she supposed) with a second head (truth be told, she thought she might have actually benefitted with a second one) so he probably thought this was a bad-

“I love it!” he said, stars practically shining in his eyes. 

“ _Uh_ …”

“It’s the best idea you’ve had, Princess!” he said excitedly. 

Marinette smiled. Her kitty was so happy at the thought that she didn’t have the heart to rescind her offer. And frankly, his excitement was contagious. She was excited about this “arrangement” and all those little details could be worked out, she wasn’t Ladybug, Master Strategist and Harbringer of Great Ideas for nothing. 

“Okay, so I’ll go home and pack some of my things and be back in… About an hour? And… And what will I need, toileteries, my laptop and phone obviously _and_ the chargers. Can I bring some of my favourite DVDs and video games?” he asked hopefully.

“ _Of course_ , Kitty,” she said brightly. “We’ll have lots of fun, you’ll see!”

“I don’t doubt it!” 

“Also, you forgot to mention clothes on your list, Chat,” she said, giggling.

Chat drew back warily. “Why would I need clothes? I mean, I’ll get a towel and the uh, _underwear but_... I’ll be in my suit all the time, right?”

“Well, first of all, won’t you be wearing clothes _underneath_ the suit?” she asked, having never really thought about whether the clothes stayed under the suit after transformation. _Oh, that wasn’t the point!_ “And _of course_ you won’t be transformed all the time! No, no, I’m not asking you to tell me who you are, I’ll make you a comfortable mask you can wear while you’re in your civilian clothes. I’m sure your kwami will need to rest and that you would want to be comfortable, especially since you’ll live here indefinitely!”

He beamed, before wrapping her in a tight hug. “You’re amazing!” he gushed. 

She flushed but hugged him back tightly, till he drew back. “Okay, I’ll be back in an hour!”

She nodded. “And I’ll get to work on your mask,” she said with a smile. 

With one last grin, he was out of the window again, and she walked over slowly and placed the sanitizer bottle on the sill for when he came back. 

_What have I just agreed to_ !? She thought in panic. A boy, an _attractive_ boy, (who she may or may not have the tiniest ( _super tiny, okay?_ ) crush on, but we don’t talk _or_ think about _that_ in this house) will be _living_ with her indefinitely. They’ll definitely be sharing the bed. As _friends_ of course, because she was not going to let her partner sleep on a couch that she deemed needed deep cleaning; she supposed she’d have to use the classic Pillow Wall. And there was also the single bathroom. _They’ll be living together. Indefinitely._ As _friends._

She squeaked. “ _Tikki!_ ”

A giggling Tikki finally floated into view, hovering in front of her wielder’s face. “Oh, Marinette,” she chuckled.

-ooo-

By the time Chat Noir swung in through the window of his room, the severity of his decision caught up with him. It became all the more evident when he dropped his conversation and all Plagg did was cackle as Adrien groaned. 

What would he do if there was an akuma attack, surely Hawkmoth wouldn’t care that going out was a biohazard? If he cared that much, he surely would have drawn the line at attacking teenagers everyday for jewellery? If Hawkmoth attacked, he’d have to make sure Plagg was fully recharged before he headed to Marinette’s or he might just drop the transformation by mistake. Nathalie expected emails everyday with updates on what he was doing and on his coursework, thankfully his modelling assignments would be put on hold. He’d already asked the staff and Gorilla to go home despite Nathalie’s (read: his father) protests, so that won’t be much of a problem. Then there was the weekly ‘I’m alive, don’t worry call’, that his father expected him to make to Nathalie. It also dawned on him that maneouvering the video calls with his friends would be tough to manage. And Marinette lived in a one bedroom apartment! Did that mean… _Uh._

He supposed he could take the couch, like the gentleman that he was. As for the video calls, he looked around his room, worrying his lower lip before taking some pictures of it from different positions he could potentially use as a background in his calls. Nathalie won’t care to look hard enough to notice and the others, well, he could _hope_. He would have to rely on his ability to think on the feet, he supposed. 

Because despite everything, he was very excited to have a roommate that wasn’t Plagg and his rock climbing wall! Yes, he was a little nervous because he was a _boy_ and he would be living with a _girl_ who was, according to his strictly platonic observations, very cute and also his _very_ good friend. 

His cute, good, no, _great_ friend, who thought his father, her design idol, was an asshole just because he left Adrien alone. He preened. She _cared_ so much. With a happy sigh, he stood up and started packing stuff, not even bothering to scold Plagg as he dropped wheels of Camembert in his duffle bag with what he thought was utmost stealth.

-ooo-

One hour later, he was slipping through Marinette’s window again, dropping the duffle bag on the floor before using the sanitizer. Marinette appeared immediately and grinned at him, handing him the mask she’d made. 

“Go change, I’ll set up dinner for us,” she said smiling, as she nudged him towards her bedroom door before heading to the kitchen. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a salute before heading to her room and closing the door behind him before dropping his transformation. 

Plagg looked entirely too pleased with himself as he zipped around the room for some time before grinning and dropping into the top drawer of Marinette’s dresser. Adrien shook his head as he headed to vanity adjacent to the dresser and held up the mask in front of his face before tying it carefully, securing a firm knot.

It was surprisingly soft and did not pinch his cheeks bones and covered quite a lot of his face, he noted, impressed.

Pleased with the result, he turned around and startled when he noticed that her bed had a wall of pillows down the centre. His brain made a garbled noise in his head before he cleared his throat and called out, “Hey, Marinette?”

There was a patter of footsteps, and he heard Marinette speak from in front of her bedroom door. “Yeah? Do you need anything?”

“Uh, no,” he said slowly. “Why, uh… Why do you have a wall of pillows on your bed?”

There was a brief moment of silence, before she said slowly, “Well, kitty, you didn’t think I’d let you sleep on the _couch_ did you?”

That was what he had assumed yes. He had, in fact, been more than happy with that assumption. He needed a moment to process that the couch was not to be his sleeping place. And also because he had seen enough romcoms to know that pillow walls, as classic as they may be, were also notorious for being completely useless.

Outside, at his lack of response, Marinette shifted uneasily. “You… don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable. The couch is… Well, not as clean as I’d like it to be and uh, I just wanted you to be comfortable. If you-”

“ _No-_ ” he said quickly, rushing to open the door, blinking at a wide-eyed, nervous looking Marinette. “No, I don’t mind. I didn’t want to make _you_ uncomfortable and I… Didn’t want to presume,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Marinette gave him a soft smile, before bopping his nose. “Silly cat, you’ll never make me uncomfortable. Now come on, it’s dinner time. I hope you don’t mind some simple spaghetti.”

He let her drag him off to the kitchen island that served as a table for two, smiling contently. “I _love_ spaghetti.”

“Well, good,” she said. “Tomorrow, we’ll go grocery shopping so we can get stuff that we _both_ like and that would sustain us for at least two weeks.”

“Purr-fect,” he grinned, as she served the pasta, bubbling with excitement.

He felt himself relax as she saw her prancing around the kitchen muttering about croissants before she came back with a box with the T&S logo on it and set it down in front of him. 

“Saved you some from my trip yesterday! I know how you used to like them!” she beamed.

He could melt into the floor, he was that happy. He decided not to worry anymore and make the best of his time here, because this was all he could get of the ‘roommate’ experience since his father was adamant on him not moving out. And if this was all he’d get, he’d take it.

He would go grocery shopping with his friend, he’d have homecooked meals, and he’d make sure to show off his own skills at pasta making he’d picked up from his chef the few times he was allowed into the kitchen. And with his modelling assignments cancelled and Nathalie unable to control or order around the chefs for his diet, Marinette probably wouldn’t mind if he wanted to snack on ice cream at 2 in the morning, and would gladly join him. He could probably stay up as long as he wanted, wake up whenever he wanted and no one would say a thing. 

He’d play video games all day, and who cared if she kicked his ass, her excitement at that was rewarding enough. They would probably watch Project Runway together and make judgy comments and he would give her inputs with designs

And he would see if he could talk her into getting a cat. Definitely, that was one of the many things in his agenda. 

Yep. He was done worrying. Besides, he was _The_ Chat Noir. What could go wrong? He was the superhero of Paris, protecting the city along with Ladybug, one day at a time with the power of chaos, destruction and… Well, _bad_ _luck_ , simmering in his hands……… Okay, a _lot_ could go wrong. 

And yeah, Ladybug would _probably_ kill him for being roommates with someone as Chat Noir. 

But this was _Marinette._

Everything would be fine, nay, perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE GUYS <3
> 
> I also (try to) make art! Follow me on [Tumblr](https://anxiouscupakeart.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/anxiouscupcake_) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/anxious.cupcake/)


	2. Kellogg's Crunchy Bites from India

_ **Day 1** _

When Adrien blinked awake at the sound of a soft buzzing noise, and then was startled by the unfamiliar surroundings. As his brain started to wake up slowly as he registered an unfamiliar weight across his legs. His eyes shifted around the room as soft blue light filtered through the window, and started to smile stupidly as he remembered _where_ he was and _why_.

He sank into the pillows with a contentment.

The buzz he had heard, as it turns out, was an alarm set to keep getting louder. He heard a grunt from his left, and when he turned, he had to stifle a cackle of soft amusement at the sight of Marinette. She had her face buried in the pillows of the pillow wall, her cheek squished adorably against the fluffy pillow. Her forehead was inches from his shoulder, and as he expected, the pillow wall had been encroached; one of her legs was thrown over both of his and she groaned loudly as the alarm got louder. 

She rolled away from him towards her nightstand, blindly reaching for her phone to turn the alarm clock off, before falling asleep again, snoring slightly. He couldn’t help but chuckle with mirth as he watched her sprawl across the bed, already being able to picture the mortification on her face when she woke up. 

Smiling at the thought, he turned to observe his former classmate, who was still soundly asleep, body splayed out over her side of the bed as well as on top of the pillows that made the pillow wall. As he watched, she mumbled something in her sleep before rolling to her other side, completely turning away from him and for a brief second he worried that she’d tumble off the bed, but she just continued to sleep.

“Quite the heavy sleeper huh Princess?” he muttered under his breath chuckling. 

“Shut up, _chaton_ ,” she grumbled, surprising him before her entire body tensed and she sat up, wide eyed.

“ _Chat_ ,” she breathed, eyes wide as she looked at him, lying on his side as he watched her curiously. Her cheeks flushed a little as her eyes flickered to the disrupted wall of pillows. “I thought I’d dreamed the whole thing,” she admitted sheepishly. 

He frowned, sitting up as he looked at her with concern. “Are you still okay with this? I mean, I could go if-”

“What, no!” she interrupted, leaning over to grab his hand with both of hers. “I’m glad it _wasn’t_ a dream. I’m glad you’re here,” she said, giving him a sunny smile. 

“Me too,” he said, relaxing as he smiled. “Thank you for having me.”

“Anything for my kitty,” she said with a wink, before falling back onto the bed.

He turned to lie down on his side, elbow on the mattress, face propped up by the palm of his hand as he looked at her.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” he asked.

-ooo-

“I feel stupid,” whined Chat, trailing behind Marinette in the cereal aisle.

Marinette snickered as she turned around, letting go of her trolley for a moment to pat his head. “Sorry, _chaton_. This is the only way,” she said, sounding only a little but not very apologetic.

“ _Marinette_ , everyone’s looking at me funny!” he complained. “I look like an idiot, wearing sunglasses _indoors_ . Not to mention this _face_ mask _,_ did you really have to?”

“You know it’s safer to wear the mask, _chaton_ ,” she said solemnly, with a hint of smile.

“I _know_ that, it’s _this particular_ mask I have an issue with,” he said indignantly.

Giggling, Marinette booped his nose, which was currently covered with a preventive medical mask that Marinette had painstakingly painted black, along with white fangs and a little pink tongue poking out.

“Everyone looks funny now, _chaton_ , you don’t have to worry about standing out,” she said, turning back to the trolley. “Besides, the face mask is safer for everyone’s _health_ and the sunglasses to cover your _other_ mask are safer for your identity,” she said, narrowing her eyes as they flickered from box to box. “What’s your preference, Chat Noir?” she asked.

“I still look stupid with glasses on inside a supermarket,” he muttered petulantly. “Fruit Loops.”

“Me too,” she beamed, scooping two boxes into the trolley.

“Kelloggs Crunchy Bites too, please,” he said hesitantly.

Frowning, Marinette searched the aisle till her gaze landed on the box sitting on the shelf labelled ‘World’

“I had those on a trip to India once, two years ago,” he said, and she could hear him grinning. “I have missed these everyday ever since.”

“What, couldn’t just come out here and buy some, _chaton_?” she teased, as she took one off the shelf. 

Chat cleared his throat. “Well, my family is, er, very health conscious, so I usually just have muesli and fruit for breakfast.”

Marinette wheeled around, to stare at him in shock. “Everyday?” she asked with horror.

“Everyday,” he confirmed solemnly.

“Well, you’ll be living with a baker’s daughter now, and we _absolutely_ cannot have that,” she said determinedly. “Cereal is back-up breakfast food. Only fresh pastries and pancakes and waffles and eggs and bacon and-”

“I can’t wait,” he said, cutting her off as he twirled once on his foot with glee.

She smiled at him before gesturing the trolley. “Look around and pick what you like, kitty. We won’t be out grocery shopping for 15 days at least.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a salute, sauntering ahead of her as he curiously flit around aisle to aisle. 

She watched with amusement and his childlike glee filled her with warmth. She watched him pick out cheese for his kwami, the fascination in his face as he darted around the bread and freeform aisle. They spent quite a lot of time in the snacks and crisps section. He absolutely preened everytime she shrugged in acquiescence when he pointed at something questioningly. He was pushing the trolley now, excitedly chattering away about how much he loved supermarkets. 

“I will officially do my own shopping now,” he said seriously. “There’s just so much variety in here that I feel like I’m going to pass out. I know you said only 15 days but-”

“We’ll be back in 15 days and then you can try more new things, kitty,” she said, patting his arm comfortingly. 

“Hell, yeah!” he said, and she could hear his grin in his voice as they made their way towards the vegetable aisle. 

He stopped hesitantly before shooting her an apprehensive glance. 

“What is it?” she asked.

“I um, can we absolutely not get any lettuce or kale?” he asked, and she knew if the shades were off, he’d be making kitten eyes at her.

“Why not?” she tilted her head in confusion.

“I’m absolutely _sick_ of those bland, pardon, ass _leaves_ ,” he said with loathing, eyeing the shelves with the aforementioned ‘blandass leaves’. 

Marinette frowned. “Don’t tell me that was one of the things your health conscious family made you eat all the time?”

“One of the things?” he scoffed. “More like _all_ of them. Big chunks of that with vegetables. With some seasoning of course.”

“ _Please_ don’t tell me you mean salt and pepper?” she asked, and he only shrugged. Huffing, she took control of the trolley again, nudging him away with her hip as she tackled the vegetables.

“I will show you what _real_ food is, _minou_.”

Half an hour later, Marinette and Chat stood at the start of the alcohol aisle. “For de-stressing,” shrugged Marinette. “I’m a fan of rosé, personally. I also just really happen to like the bottles.”

“Anything works for me,” he said shrugging, and the two of them started to turn when Chat caught sight of someone familiar at the other end of the alcohol aisle. He frowned, craning his neck to get a better view.

“Princess, isn’t that your ex-boyfriend?” he asked.

Marinette straightened, now on high alert as she followed Chat’s gaze and saw Luka; his face was covered but the brow piercing paired with the black hair with blue tips, it was unmistakably him. Squeaking, she started to run her fingers through her loose hair, straightening her bangs before looking at Chat, eyes wide. 

“How do I look?” she asked, checking her reflection in his shades before groaning. “Of course you wouldn’t know, my face is covered with my mask!”

“The mask is cute?” he offered, looking over her shoulder at Luka, who was examining two different bottles of… _something_. 

She groaned. “Would it be weird if my face is covered and I go say hi? _Should_ I go say hi at all? And what if-” Then her eyes widened as she gripped his arms. “He can’t see you with me! What would I say?” 

Her eyes darted around frantically, and Chat had to fight off the indignation that was rising in him at her saying that he couldn’t be seen with her, though she did have a point. Besides, she looked quite cute, frantic with cheeks flushed pink. 

“Well, well, princess,” he purred. “Hoping to impress an ex, huh?”

“Shut _up_ ,” she hissed, finally shoving him a few feet away, and grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him away as he snickered. 

Just as he finally conceded and turned away, pretending to be interested in champagne bottles, he heard Luka call out to Marinette, followed by a small squeak. He chuckled silently to himself, lingering only a couple of feet behind her as Luka approached her.

“Hi, Nettie! How have you been?”

“Hey, Luka,” replied Marinette and Chat could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m alright. Just doing a grocery run. Need to stock up for fifteen days.”

“Well, what d’you know, me too!” Luka grinned. 

“I, uh, didn’t know you were back in town…”

Luka laughed sheepishly. “It’s only just been two days. Jagged got us back on the last flight in, can you believe it?”  
  
Marinette shifted her weight on her feet nervously. “I’m glad. That you got back safe, I mean.”

Luka hummed, reaching out to hesitantly tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. Watching from his peripheral vision, Chat bristled a little bit. Wasn’t that inappropriate behaviour for exes? Apparently _not_ since Marintte stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide as she looked up at Luka. _And_ a telltale blush.

“How’s the lockdown treating you?” Luka asked quietly. 

“F-Fine,” she said, her voice catching just a little bit. “I-I finally have time to um, unpack and…. Uh stuff.”

“Unpack?”

“Oh, er, I moved into Nino’s apartment. Alya and Nino moved into mine,” she said. 

“You’re living alone?” asked Luka, eyes wide. 

_No, she’s not!_ Chat thought indignantly.

“Um, yes,” she replied hesitantly.

Luka frowned. “Nettie, you sure you’re okay? I know you don’t really like being alone. And with your nightmares and-”

“No!” said Marinette quickly, cutting him off and Chat wondered if he imagined the brief look towards him that she shot over her shoulder. “I- I mean, I’m okay. I… I told you there’s a lot to do anyway. Don’t worry about me.”

Luka sighed. “ _Ma belle_ , I always worry about you.”

Marinette took his hand in hers. “I’ll be fine, Luka. I promise.”  
  
She could feel the back of her neck prickling and knew that Chat was staring. She flexed her back muscles a little, unsure of why she was wishing Chat wasn’t a witness to this. Maybe because the nightmares were about him. Well, not _him_ , but white-suited, blue-eyed version of him. 

Adrien shifted uneasily, feeling like he was intruding on a private moment. He fought his urge to stare and turned away, realizing now that Marinette had never really explained why they had broken up. Alya had warned both him and Nino to never bring it, and after the three weeks of her being cooped up in their apartment (and crying. _Lots_ of crying, that he only knew about because of his visits as Chat.), they’d decided to let it go and give her time; she’d talk when she was ready, they had thought, but she never did. It’d been six months since then.

While Chat was lost in his thoughts, Luka and Marinette exchanged some more words before Luka hesitated for a moment before nudging her forehead with his nose gently and Marinette was sure that if it weren’t for the masks it would’ve been a kiss. 

“I’ll see you around, _ma belle_ ,” said Luka quietly. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I- I won’t,” she said quietly, giving his hand one last squeeze before he turned around after a final wave. 

She stared at his retreating back, biting back a sigh. Inhaling deeply she turned around to see Chat staring with intense concentration at a bottle of Pinot Noir. Curious, she went to stand behind him, peering over his shoulder.

“What’s so interesting about that Pinot Noir, Chat Noir?” she asked, startling him as he wheeled around to face her. “You don’t happen to be _related_ do you?” she finished, snickering, clearly proud of herself for the joke. 

Chat looked at her in confusion for a moment before deadpanning. “That was _terrible_.”

“I only learned from the best,” she grinned.

“So you admit I’m the best?” he smirked, cocking his hip. 

“At terrible jokes, yes,” she countered, poking his side before reaching for their trolley. “Come on, let's go. You get all the cheese you’ll need?”

“All set,” he said, patting the trolley. "And the it's not for _me,_ it's for my _kwami_ ," he sniffed.

Marinette laughed good-naturedly as they headed to the self-checkout counter with their groceries - a _lot_ of groceries that Chat could not _wait_ to get into - Chat waited obediently with open bags as Marinette systematically scanned each item and carefully placed them in the bags. Chat watched with amusement as she muttered reminders to herself to keep the squishable items on top, and the frowned for a second to ask if he thought there was enough bread. 

Chat eyed the two loaves, one wheatgerm and one white, the two plain baguettes, the large garlic baguette and the two flavours of breadsticks. 

He cleared his throat. “I don’t think we _knead_ anymore.”

Marinette frowned, but conceded. Dividing the bags between the two of them, they walked out of the market, stepping into the cool outdoors.

“So, _chaton_ ,” she said. “Your first grocery run.”

“ _Yeah_ ,” he preened. “It’s wonderful, and I can't wait to do it again. I didn’t even _know_ potato waffles were a _thing_!” he said in amazement. 

Marinette chuckled, trying to dodge other pedestrians while balancing her bags. After hesitating only for a second, Chat nudged her to the side of the pavement with his hip and to a halt. 

“What’re you-”

Wordlessly, he set the bags from one hand on the ground, looping his freehand around hers and pulling her close before picking the bags up again. “For balance,” he said, locking the crooks of their elbows together. 

Marinette smiled, nodding at him as the two of them began walking to her apartment, attached to the hip, focusing on small talk instead of the heat they could feel from each other.

-ooo-

Chat helped her unpack the groceries, noting where things went with utmost care and concentration, illiciting a small smile from Marinette. She'd always had the impression that Chat had lead a somewhat sheltered childhood and every once in a while, when he grinned with delight at something mundane, Marinette felt her heart warm and ache at the same time. Over the years, it had only made her determined to be a good friend to him. Fourteen-year-old Marinette would've sputtered with indignation about identities at the idea of Chat living with her, let alone sharing a bed with him, but now she couldn't imagine her life without him; on either side of the masks. 

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Chat asked her with a small smirk, but the curiosity was there in his. "Daydreaming about your ex, Princess?"

Marinette flushed scarlet, what in the world did she look like that Chat thought she was thinking of Luka? "Uh..."

Chat chuckled, before taking on a faux serious expression. "I'll see you around, _ma belle_."

Groaning, Marinette poked at him with a baguette, but he dodged, cackling. "I could be your roommate if you want, _ma belle_."

"Shut _up,_ Chat," she said, pouting. "That's not what he said."

"He sure seemed to be about to offer," he said, before pausing before cocking his head. "Would you have said yes if I wasn't here?"

"He didn't ask me that," she sighed, moving back to continue unpacking her groceries. 

"Well, _what if_ he had?"

Marinette paused, crossing her arms. "I would've said no. Whether or not you're here. It's _over_ and I... Don't want to rehash anything."

"Doesn't look like it's over for him," he said cautiously, reaching forward to take her hand in an effort to comfort her, panicking when she sniffled. 

"Luka is... great," she said slowly as he moved to circle his hands around her waist in a hug. "But as I said, we ended things for _good_ reason," she said firmly, settling into the hug, one hand squished between the two of them and her free hand going up to play with her earrings. "It had to be done. There were too many... secrets, _kind of_ -"

_Secrets?_

He remembered what Luka had said about her nightmares, but before he could open his mouth to ask, Marinette continued. "-And he got the opportunity to open for Jagged Stone's Europe Tour. It was the right thing to do," she said, shrugging. 

"Was that what you wanted?" For some reason, he waited for her answer with bated breath, unsure why it meant so much to him.

She sighed, raising one hand to trace the edge of the mask where it met his skin, before flicking his bell gently. "We don't always get what we want, Kitty," she said, giving him a small, resigned smile.

"Besides, I have no regrets. I'm glad that we had what we did. But it's in the past now," she said firmly, drawing back, hands circling his wrists.

"Lets make those passionfruit macarons you love so much! And maybe some salted caramel ones," she added, clearly an attempt to disperse the heavy atmosphere. "Alya will be calling soon and she _loves_ them. _That'll_ teach her to say I would spend the lockdown in "eternal slumber"."

Chat laughed. "Well, to be fair, you might have if I hadn't been hear to wake you up."

"Whatever shall I do without you, _chaton_. My very own, Cat-boy sized purr-sonal alarm clock."

"First of all, I'm a _man_ ," he said, before grinning and leaning closer. "Secondly, _clearly_ I'm a su _purr_ b influence, look at you appreciating the art from that is puns."

She looked flustered for a second, before smirking and leaning up to plant a light, playful kiss on his nose, startling him into backing away. Laughing, she backed away. "Come on, _chaton_. We've got macarons to bake."

-ooo-  
  


**BONUS (i have no idea what possessed me to write this but i couldn’t stop thinking about how gabriel felt about that situation):**

Gabriel stared out of the windows of his expensive hotel, frowning at the skyline of Milan. This was unprecedented in his quest for the Miraculous. A biohazard related apocalypse. 

“Nooroo?” called Gabriel, waiting for the little purple kwami to fly over. 

When he spotted him hovering over his shoulder, he asked, “Do you think someone started all of this in a lab on purpose to-

“Master,” sighed Nooroo. “I understand you’re bored but you must stop reading all those conspiracy theories. Not everyone is a supervillain who wants to take over the world.”

Gabriel bristled. “I do _not_ want to take over the world and I’m _not_ supervillain! I-”

“I never said so, Master,” said Nooroo innocently. “You just possess people at their lowest so you can fight two teenagers all because you want your wife back. For your… family, of course.”

“That’s right,” said Gabriel as he adjusted his tie solemnly. “Speaking of-”

Nooroo rubbed his temples in annoyance. “No, master, we cannot send your little butterflies flying from Milan to Paris to possess someone.”

Gabriel hummed thoughtfully. “What if I possess someone _here_ and send them to Paris? I can give them wings.”

“You want a human to fly from Milan, to Paris?” asked Nooroo incredulously. “Why don’t you do it _yourself_?”

Gabriel’s brow quirked. “ _Can_ I do that?”

“Fly to Paris? Master, I mean no offense, but you’re not getting any younger.”

“Well, then I suppose I can send some Italian or the other.”

“Hawkmoth doesn’t have the range,” sighed Nooroo, adding hastily, “To control akuma long distance, I mean.”

“But the time… It is _so ripe_ , Nooroo,” said Gabriel, agitated. “All the agitation and frustration, I can _feel_ it in the air.”

“It is all probably just mine,” muttered the purple kwami, retreating to the little nest he’d made for himself on top of the cupboard where he had a good view of Gabriel muttering to himself about lost opportunities.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Chat.
> 
> NEXT: Alya and Sabine are nosy. Chatdrien has #Thoughts.
> 
> Yes, Crunchy Bites are a real thing and they are the most amazing thing to exist on this planet, periodt. They’re also the only cereal I like. They're BUTTERSCOTCH flavoured... I mean... *cries at the unavailability*
> 
> And in case you couldn’t tell, I absolutely love grocery shopping, makes me feel so goddamn grown up. Till I reach my room all exhausted of course, ‘cause I’m too weak to carry it all.


	3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEP. i have NOT forgotten about this fic, i was having major indecision issues regarding chapter lengths and thanks to peeps from ML Writers' Guilds, my dilemma is now solved. solution being idc about chapter lengths, so i'll update but the chapter lengths will be inconsistent; each chapter wILL have something though, it maybe between the lines or whatever but there'll be some "development" of sorts. 
> 
> so yeah. 
> 
> ALSO in all likelihood ( idk YET ) the chapters will be non-linear; not by like.... a HUGE margin but maybe a little bit here and there. but i WILL mention at the start of every chapter so you'll easily figure where it fits into the scheme.
> 
> thank you for your patience, i promise i'll update this more frequently now!

_**Still Day 1** _

Both Chat and Marinette startled when her phone rang. They looked at each other in panic, Marinette’s hand covered in sticky dough, thanks to an impromptu decision to make lemon and coriander bread when Chat mentioned his love for it. The macarons were cooling off on one end of the kitchen counter, and the phone just… Kept ringing. 

“Uh…”

Marinette paused in her kneading of the dough, knowing it might be risky to put a pause on that. Finally, she looked at Chat. “Can you get that for me? Put it on speaker and just put it on the counter,” she nodded, pointing with her chin to an area clear of flour. 

Nodding, he looked at the phone and eyes wide, turned to Marinette. “Alya.”

Marinette groaned. Alya on speaker while Chat was here? This was going to be a complete wild card. “I’m not _ready_ ,” she whined, watching as he shrugged and hit the receive button and put the phone carefully on the counter, having made sure it was on speaker mode.

“Hey, Alya,” Marinette called, leaning slightly towards the phone as she worked the bread. 

“Hey, M,” said Alya, in somewhat of a drawl that made Marinette wary. “How was your morning?”

“Uh, good?” she said cautiously. 

Alya hummed. “Anything you want to tell me?”

Marinette paused, briefly wondering if she knew about Chat and looked up to find him frowning curiously, head tilted to one side as he leaned against the refrigerator. Shrugging, she looked back to her phone. “Well, I made some salted caramel macarons.”

A sharp inhale. “When I can’t be around to eat them? How cruel,” she replied, with a faux sniffle. 

“I’ll make them for you again when it’s all over,” assured Marinette with a snort.

There were a few moments of silence before Alya said again, “Guess what a little birdie told me, since you won’t tell me yourself.”

“What? A little birdie?” she asked, pausing in the process of kneading the dough. 

“ _Apparently_ you ran into your ex-boyfriend when you were out shopping for groceries,” said Alya almost accusatorily.

“ _Juleka_!” Marinette groaned. “Yes, I did run into him. We spoke for a few moments and then parted ways, that’s all.”

There was a moment of silence as she began to prepare the dough for proving, her movements a little slow. Her eyes flickered over to Chat who was looking a little unsure now, and she gave him an apologetic shrug. 

“Are you okay, M?” asked Alya at last. “I know it must have been hard, given that you weren’t prepared and-”

Marinette sighed, adding just a little bit of aggression into her kneading. “I’m _fine_ , Alya. It was six months ago.”

“But he’s back in town now, so maybe you can-”

“ _No_ ,” said Marinette vehemently. “Absolutely not. I don’t know when he’ll leave again and neither does he. And well, I still can’t talk about the, um, Chocolate Chip Cookie problem,” she said, looking warily at Chat, who had now moved to the living area and was scrolling down his phone. She couldn’t tell if he was listening or not.

Alya let out an exasperated sigh. “Ah, _yes_ , the mysterious Chocolate Chip Cookie problem.” Marinette could practically hear Alya rolling her eyes. “And you’re still not ready to tell _me_ about it either?”

“I… Can’t.”

“Fine,” Alya relented. “Only because I haven’t talked to you about my, um, Pink Macaron stuff.”

Marinette stifled a laugh. “And I’m not going to make you. When you’re ready.”

“When you’re ready,” Alya agreed, but Marinette could hear the reluctance, and she wished they could really talk about these things but after that tryst with Miracle Queen years ago, things had been really rough. All the holders’ families had been targeted multiple times until Ladybug publicly renounced any affiliation with them, and only handed out Miraculouses sporadically almost two years after the incident, and only under the condition that their look and names be changed entirely. She’d still only given them out to Nino and Alya, when the akumas were particularly rough and either Chat or her were practically out of commission for the fight. And with the akumas getting deadlier, identities were more important than ever.

The girls chattered for a few more minutes, as Marinette finished her kneading and set the dough to prove, before Alya finally had to leave to prepare lunch. 

“Oh, and by the way, you’re still on for a chat with the guys tomorrow right?” asked Alya. 

“Of course,” nodded Marinette. “ _Technically_ , it’s a chat with Adrien I’d be joining given you and Nino are living together.”

“Yeah,” said Alya. “By the way, have you heard from him lately? His asshole dad left him all alone.” 

Marinette frowned as she washed her hand and dried them on a towel, not noticing how Chat had straightened slightly, shoulders a little tense. “Yeah, I know. Haven’t specifically heard from him except for when he’s on our group chat,” she said, pausing thoughtfully. “And he hasn’t been very active lately either, has he? That’s unusual for him. Do you… Do you think he’s okay?”

“I’d say yes, but I don’t know, girl,” Alya worried. “Nino said they’ve been texting but Adrien’s a terrible texter so…” snorted Alya. 

“Well, that’s true,” agreed Marinette, knowing Adrien’s habit of texting in monosyllables and occasionally full, but _precise_ sentences without any emojis made it a little hard to decipher the feeling behind his text. “We’ll see him tomorrow though, and maybe we can try to stage an intervention,” she suggested.

She did not notice Chat’s initial stiffening, neither his soft smile as he (completely, and _totally_ unintentionally) heard the girls discuss his civilian identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> send asks or questions about this fic or anything mlb and i'll be happy to discuss! :D - [activechataclysme.](https://activechataclysme.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> So, thoughts?? 
> 
> A lot of this is my own experience so maybe the way Paris is seemingly dealing with quarantine is not accurate? So um, creative license? I gotta say I am, in fact, quarantined alone. Where can I get one Chat Noir, please.
> 
> I'll probably keep writing this till I'm out of the lockdown.
> 
> STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE GUYS <3
> 
> I also (try to) make art! Follow me on [Tumblr](https://anxiouscupakeart.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/anxiouscupcake_) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/anxious.cupcake/)


End file.
